Pepper, Don't Look Back, I'm Tony

Bren slid into Tony's body like a bubble.

In the next moment, black and red eyeliner appeared around Tony's eyes. When his eyes opened, the consciousness within this body had already been overtaken by Bren.

Possession.

One of the superpowers of the Iktowrey race. In theory, Iktowreys could permanently possess other bodies in this way.

However, due to the limitations of the watch, Bren didn't have much time to waste. It had already been more than twenty minutes since he left his home.

This was also why he chose to possess Tony's body, rather than wait for Tony to leave and act later.

But...

Inside Tony's consciousness space.

Bren warily glanced at another light cluster.

Tony Stark's consciousness had already fallen into a deep sleep under his influence. If he didn't leave on his own, he might never wake up. But the consciousness in this light cluster was different.

Although it, too, seemed to be asleep, it didn't appear to be affected by Bren's shadow powers.

"Could it be the Mind Stone?"

As a fan of comics, Bren had heard of the seventh Infinity Stone in his past life.

Legend had it that Tony Stark was so intelligent because he possessed the seventh Infinity Stone—the Mind Stone.

However, the Mind Stone's form was the tumor in Tony's brain.

But not every Tony Stark in the multiverse had this setup.

The Mind Stone in front of him was most likely still dormant, but Bren was still a bit apprehensive. He didn't know if the Mind Stone's powers could interpret the technology of the twentieth-level universe.

After all, the broken watch was a masterpiece of Azmuth. Many people who prided themselves on their intelligence, such as Albedo or Dr. Psychobos, could not fully replicate the watch's existence.

Even the ultimate evolution of Albedo was nowhere near Azmuth in terms of intelligence.

The Mind Stone might not be able to interpret the broken watch.

Still, Bren was a little uneasy.

"Better get the data and leave quickly," he thought. Just then, Jarvis's voice sounded.

"Sir?"

Jarvis had been waiting for Tony to give a clear command, but Tony had suddenly gone still, confusing Jarvis. However, as an AI, it had no right to question Tony's behavior.

"I'm fine, Jarvis. Show me your low-level code," Tony (Bren) shook his head, offering an excuse. "I want to see if I can upgrade you."

"You're acting a bit strange, sir," Jarvis seemed to sense something off, but as a program, it fell into a slight thinking trap.

From its perspective, Tony hadn't changed, so naturally, it had no reason to disobey orders.

On the virtual projection, a string of codes passed by Bren's eyes.

To be honest, he couldn't remember any of it and certainly didn't understand it.

I should have brought a USB drive, he thought.

Unfortunately, there was no such thing as hindsight.

He hadn't expected to become a shadow tonight, so he wasn't prepared. He'd have to memorize it the hard way.

"By the way, Jarvis," Bren suddenly remembered. "Where's the arc reactor core?"

He remembered Tony having more than one arc reactor. If he planned to take it for research, he couldn't just remove the one from Tony's body.

"You forgot you gave it to Ms. Potts?" Jarvis asked, puzzled.

It found Tony's behavior increasingly strange.

If Tony hadn't been under its watch, Jarvis might have suspected someone else was impersonating him.

"Oh, right. I completely forgot." Bren clicked his tongue. At this point, he didn't know if Pepper was still at Stark Tower. And if he did meet her while inhabiting Tony's body, he would feel strange.

But to his surprise, just as he thought about Pepper, the laboratory door opened.

Pepper, with her blonde hair, strode in.

"T—Tony."

The sudden appearance of the real Pepper made Bren panic for a moment, but he quickly calmed down. He was Tony now, so it wasn't a problem.

"Hey, Pepper."

"You've locked yourself in here for days just to study those..." Pepper frowned, pausing. "Armor."

She seemed both worried and compassionate.

"Ms. Potts, sir has only slept three hours in total over the past few days," Jarvis appropriately filed a small report, which made Pepper even more worried.

She stepped forward, looking at Tony's haggard face, instinctively reaching out her hand.

"Wait, Pepper, I'm fine."

Bren stepped back, avoiding her touch.

He looked at Pepper, somewhat awkwardly. He thought that if this continued, the situation would head in a strange direction.

Pepper, you still have your charm, don't you?

At that moment, he suddenly felt like the shadow power had gained color...

He shook his head, clearing out the unnecessary thoughts.

To be honest, Pepper wasn't really his type, and even the famous Black Widow didn't stir much interest in him.

"Fine? Look at your dark circles!"

Pepper, exasperated, held up a mirror and shoved it into Bren's face.

Bren wanted to say, That's not dark circles; that's the result of being possessed by a shadow.

But he didn't have much time left.

His possession time was already short, and with Pepper interrupting, Bren estimated that thirty minutes were almost up.

Fortunately, he had already gotten a good look at the low-level code. He hadn't memorized it, but memory had to do with brain capacity. Once he became Grey Matter, he might be able to recall it.

I don't need to remember everything; just the general idea will do, Bren thought.

As for the rest, Grey Matter would find a way.

But now, he had to leave quickly.

"Alright, Pepper, do you know where my snacks are?" Bren said quickly. He needed to distract Pepper so he could leave Tony's body without being noticed. "I'm starving, I need something to eat."

Pepper gave him an exasperated look. Sometimes, she really felt like she was Tony's mother.

She sighed in resignation.

"I'll go get it for you." Pepper turned away from him.

Although Pepper wasn't the most beautiful, she did have a nice figure. Her business suit skirt outlined the curve of her body from behind.

Looking at her figure, Bren's mind suddenly echoed with a line:

Pepper, don't look back, I'm Tony.

"You don't say, I really am Tony!"

Bren muttered, then, like a cicada shedding its shell, he slid out from behind Tony's body.

This time, Jarvis noticed his shadow, which was faint and blurry in the dark. But before Jarvis could activate its high-precision cameras to confirm the image, Bren had already merged with the air and disappeared completely.

Jarvis froze.

Could it be that even an AI like itself was seeing things?